How can I analyze the following from Eusebius' Life of Constantine Book 3, Chapter V: "For as soon as he was made acquainted with the facts which...

Eusebius has left us one of our very few contemporary accounts of Constantine's interaction with the Christian Church. A little background is needed to analyze this passage. The Emperor Constantine was the first Emperor to recognize the Christian Church, ending its persecution. Scholars debate the extent to which he was actually a convert: he continued to be a religious pluralist. For example, he routinely sacrificed a bull to Jupiter every year in Rome. For him, religion was most likely a practical affair and his recognition of Christianity very probably reflected his realization that it had become an important force in the Empire, especially in Alexandria, which was also a center of learning. At this time, the Roman Empire was increasingly in trouble and increasingly reliant on Egypt as the Empire's breadbasket, the place that supplied much of the wheat the Romans needed. Constantine, as a wise ruler, didn't want the Alexandrian Egyptians rioting over debates about Christian doctrine, and possibly burning the crops in the process.

As we know from other history, at this time the Alexandrian Christians were involved in an intense debate with the Arians over the relationship of Jesus to God. We have to keep in mind that at this time, these debates had the heated importance of debates over gay marriage and abortion in today's Christian church. The debate raging involved whether or not Jesus was the son of God, and hence a "creature" like the rest of us, or co-equal with God. 

Eusebius was an Arian, meaning he believed Jesus was a creature, not "of one substance with the Father." The Alexandrians believed Jesus was of one substance with God. To calm everything down, Constantine called for a council to convene at Nicea and work this out. 

If we are to analyze this passage, we understand that Eusebius is suggesting that Constantine cares deeply about these theological issues and is on the Arian side in this debate about Jesus. Throughout this work, Eusebius heaps the highest praise on the emperor, even alluding to him as a god (which would have been usual for his era). In this passage, he is suggesting that even though Constantine sent the Alexandrians a letter to correct them, they are still persisting in their (to Eusebius) erroneous beliefs. In this version of the story, Constantine is calling a council not to have an open debate about the nature of the trinity (ie, Jesus' relationship to God) but to set the Alexandrians straight and to let them know face-to-face what is what. 

In reality, one council would briefly upset the idea that God and Jesus were of the same substance and this is probably the council Eusebius refers to here. Later councils would definitively decide on the theology we still have: Jesus as of one substance with the father, begotten not made. If we analyze this passage, we see Constantine as a strong decisive leader, an energetic and intelligent ruler, and also one who acts quickly. More importantly, Eusebius puts Constantine strongly on the side of Arians, an interpretation of the emperor's beliefs that other history does not necessarily support. We can see here that Eusebius wrote a highly opinionated, rather than factual, account of church events. 

How old does the Englishman say the alchemist is? How has he come to be that old?

The Englishman is obsessed with alchemy. The text tells readers that he spent most of his father's fortune in pursuit of learning the secrets of that mysterious art. In one of the textbooks about alchemy and the Philosopher's Stone, the Englishman read about a very old and knowledgeable alchemist. The alchemist is supposedly more than two hundred years old.  

He had spent enormous amounts of time at the great libraries of the world, and had purchased all the rarest and most important volumes on alchemy. In one he had read that, many years ago, a famous Arabian alchemist had visited Europe. It was said that he was more than two hundred years old, and that he had discovered the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life.

The text is not more specific than "more than two hundred years old," unfortunately.

It's important for him to be that old though, because it guarantees that people consider him wise. "With age comes wisdom" is what people say, so being more than two hundred years old gives a lot of wisdom-building years. His age also gives him credibility. It is rumored that he found the Elixir of Life. Combine that with his age, and a person would definitely believe that the alchemist indeed must have found it.

How does the chorus help Creon in the play Antigone?

In Antigone, the chorus tries to help Creon see the error of his ways. For example, at the end of Scene 2, the Choragos (the leader of the chorus) questions Creon's motive for wanting to also put Ismene to death even though she is not guilty of breaking the decree. The Choragos uses rhetorical questions to get Creon to see that his actions might be made in stubborn haste. Further, at the end of Scene 5, after Tiresias has departed, the Choragos tells Creon that he must at once free Antigone and give Polynices's body a proper burial. The Choragos says that Creon must not delay and that he must perform these acts with his own hand and not by proxy. By doing this himself, Creon takes direct responsibility for his own actions and makes amends for the wrong decisions that he has made. So, the chorus acts as a moral compass against which Creon can see the error in his unwise decisions.

Who should be considered the most responsible for Romeo and Juliet's death?

We have several contenders for the prize of chief responsibility for Romeo and Juliet's death. First, the lovers themselves could be said to share some blame: within days of falling head over heels in love, they are planning marriage. Perhaps they could have slowed down? Perhaps they could have thought through their decisions a bit more clearly? But young love is rash and idealistic, heady and sweet: can that be most to blame? Given the circumstances, such as the prospect of arranged marriage for Juliet and the response of the families should any hint of the lovers' affections emerge, who can really blame the two for seizing the day as quickly as possible?

What about Friar Laurence? Should he be blamed for enabling these lovers? Perhaps, but he seems more a tool of their desires that anything else, meaning if they hadn't found him, they would have found someone else to help them out. Plus, his heart was in the right place, as he wanted to end the feud (with that he does succeed).

In the end, I would side with Shakespeare that the feud itself was the undoing of the lovers, though rather than calling it "fate," or the "stars," today we might call it an example of systemic evil:

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life

In the end, the "system" that decreed that the two families be in a perpetual feud, grinding up the lives of young people (we remember others killed beside Romeo and Juliet) bears the chief responsibility for the young lovers' fate. It was the feud that did it. 

What does the old man’s moral dilemma reveal in Hemingway's short story, “The Old Man at the Bridge?"

The old man has already walked twelve kilometers away from his home town San Carlos. He is sitting in dust on the road side close to a bridge on the River Ebro. He is worried about his animals that include a cat, two goats and four pairs of pigeons; they also constitute his family.

The troops have forced him along with others to vacate his home town as the enemy was approaching fast to carry out a massive attack.

“Trucks up the road” would take him towards Barcelona, if he boards one. Several of them have been deployed to take the civilians to safe places. But the old man doesn't want to go further.

When the narrator urges him to leave the place, the old man says, "Thank you," and gets to his feet but instead of going along with him, he

“…swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in the dust.”

The old man's dilemma is about making a decision over either to proceed towards Barcelona where he knows “no one in that direction" or to await his fate sitting lonely and thinking about his mute family members.

His dilemma shows how deep his attachment is to his animals. The fact that he is putting his life in danger by not moving further doesn't seem to bother him much. Although he has come miles away from his animals, he is simply unable to move ahead without them. 

Besides, his dilemma makes him a foil to the remorseless and cruel enemy who won’t hesitate to open indiscriminate firing on the civilians, soldiers and even animals and birds alike. 

Two stars orbiting each other are separated by 10^9km and revolve around their common centre of gravity in 10 years. what is the combined mass of...

Hello!

Kepler's Third law helps us here. It states, in the general form, that for two bodies orbiting each other

`T^2/a^3=(4pi^2)/(G(m_1+m_2)),`

where `T` is the period, `a` is the (mean) distance, `m_1` and `m_2` are the masses and `G` is the gravitational constant.

We'll use this law twice, for the given system of two stars and for the system Earth+the Sun. For the latter we can neglect the mass of Earth. So we have

`(T_s^2/a_s^3)*M=(T_E^2/a_E^3)*m_S,`

where `T_s` is the given stars' period, `a_s` is the distance between stars, `M` is their combined mass which we have to find, `T_E` is the Earth's period (1 year), `a_E=1.5*10^8 km` is the distance between Earth and the Sun, and `m_S` is the mass of the Sun.

Actually we are asked to find `M/m_S` which is equal to

`(T_E/T_s)^2*(a_s/a_E)^3 = ((1.5*10^8)/10^9)^2*10^3=22.5` (times, dimensionless).

So the answer is: the combined mass of the 2 stars is 22.5 solar masses.

Imagine that a certain animal's fur length is determined by three genes. The genotype for long fur is AABBCC and aabbcc for short fur. A cross...

In order to draw a Punnett square showing a cross between two of the F1 generation, you will have eight different types of gene possibilities from the mother as to type of egg cell, and eight from the father for type of sperm cell. I can't draw it here due to limitations of what I can put in this answer box, but I can tell you what to put across the top of your Punnett square, and what to put down the side.

The eight possibilities of genotypes from the mother are ABC, ABc, AbC, aBC, Abc, aBc, abC, and abc. The genotypes for the father are the same. You will need a square with eight spaces across the top, and eight down the side, for 64 total possible offspring boxes for the F2 generation. There will be some duplications in the 64 boxes. For example, AbC (mother) crossed with aBC (father) will give the same genotype as aBC (mother) crossed with AbC (father). In each case, the offspring will be AaBbCC.

`(x^2 + 5)/((x + 1)(x^2 - 2x + 3))` Write the partial fraction decomposition of the rational expression. Check your result algebraically.

`(x^2+5)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))` 

Let`(x^2+5)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))=A/(x+1)+(Bx+C)/(x^2-2x+3)`

`(x^2+5)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))=(A(x^2-2x+3)+(Bx+C)(x+1))/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))`

`(x^2+5)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))=(Ax^2-2Ax+3A+Bx^2+Bx+Cx+C)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))`

`:.(x^2+5)=Ax^2-2Ax+3A+Bx^2+Bx+Cx+C`

`x^2+5=(A+B)x^2+(-2A+B+C)x+3A+C`

equating the coefficients of the like terms,

`A+B=1`

`-2A+B+C=0`

`3A+C=5`

Now let's solve the above three equations to find the values of A,B and C,

Express C in terms of A from the third equation,

`C=5-3A`

Substitute the above expression of C in second equation,

`-2A+B+5-3A=0`

`-5A+B+5=0`

`-5A+B=-5`

Now subtract the first equation from the above equation,

`(-5A+B)-(A+B)=-5-1`

`-6A=-6`

`A=1`

Plug the value of A in the first and third equation to get the values of B and C,

`1+B=1`  

`B=1-1`

`B=0`

`3(1)+C=5`

`C=5-3`

`C=2`

`:.(x^2+5)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))=1/(x+1)+2/(x^2-2x+3)`

Now let's check it algebraically,

`1/(x+1)+2/(x^2-2x+3)=(1(x^2-2x+3)+2(x+1))/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))` 

`=(x^2-2x+3+2x+2)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))`

`=(x^2+5)/((x+1)(x^2-2x+3))`

Hence it is verified.

What are the theme and plot of Hamlet by William Shakespeare?

Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play so deeply embedded with a myriad of thematic ideas that perhaps it is best to begin with the plot. To shorten five acts down to a few paragraphs does not give full justice to the nuanced nature of this tragedy but here is the general gist:

A youngish Hamlet is home grieving the untimely death of his father when he is visited one late night by his father's ghost. The ghost, dressed for battle, intimates he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who has subsequently taken the throne. The ghost goes on to express his frustration that his widow, Gertrude, has quickly cast aside his memory and married the murderous brother. With this knowledge and at the ghost's urging, Hamlet vows to take revenge on his uncle.

Grappling with the weight of what he must do, Hamlet proceeds through the next four acts struggling to follow through with his promise. He appears to decide that feigning madness will allow him to get close to Claudius, but first he must sort out his relationship with Ophelia. Because Hamlet seems repulsed by his mother's incestuous relationship, he pushes back against Ophelia's mild advances. Hamlet seems to understand, too, that Ophelia is being used as a pawn by her father Polonius and the King, as they strive to determine the nature of Hamlet's madness.

By Act IV, the nature of the tragedy comes to light. Hamlet kills Polonius, who was hiding behind a curtain, eavesdropping on Hamlet's conversation with his mother. Ophelia, deeply grieving over the loss of her father and Hamlet's affections, drowns in a river. Whether it was suicide or an accident we will never be certain, though dialogue from the grave diggers suggests the former. Hamlet has been sent to England by the king, who has instructed the English to kill his nephew-son. Hamlet concocts an elaborate ruse to avoid death and his former schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Gildenstern, are killed instead.

Laertes, Ophelia's brother, returns from France upon hearing the news of his father's and sister's deaths and comes prepared to take vengeance. He challenges Hamlet to a duel and aided by the king, attempts to kill Hamlet with a poison-tipped sword. King Claudius also has a poisoned cup of wine to use if necessary, but Queen Gertrude drinks from it accidentally and quickly dies. Hamlet, in a struggle with Laertes, switches swords with him and then strikes a blow, one that quickly turns lethal.

With nothing to stop him, and also mortally wounded from a blow from Laertes, Hamlet is able finally exact his revenge on Claudius, forcing the poisoned wine down his throat. At the play's conclusion, Hamlet begs his faithful friend Horatio to tell his story and he dies as Fortinbras, who was slowly storming the castle, enters ready to take the throne.

Thematically, we have madness and the nature of madness, gender roles, revenge, and mortality. 

Why does Ana get involved in the garden?

Ana, an elderly woman, has lived in the neighborhood a long time.  She likes to sit by her window and watch the activity outside. She says,

“I’ve seen history out this window.” (pg 5)

She sees Kim, the little Vietnamese girl, bury something in the empty lot next door. Ana thought Kim might be “mixed up in something she shouldn’t be.” (pg 8)  Having worked for the Parole department for twenty years, Ana thought Kim might be burying drugs or a gun.  She was about to call the police, but decided to check it out herself.

When she went down to the lot, she dug up the area where the young girl had been seen. All she found was a white bean.  She found two more beans with roots and suddenly realized that she had done the wrong thing. She had dug up the girl’s garden.

“I felt like I’d read through her secret diary and had ripped out a page without meaning to.” (pg 9)

Since Ana is elderly, there isn’t much she can do.  However, she contacts Wendell, a man who lives on the first floor, and shows him the beans.  He is surprised that the beans even sprouted because Kim planted them too early.  However, Anna tells him,

“But they did…. And it’s up to us to save them.” (pg 13)

Ana watched those beans, and when Kim didn’t show up for four days, she made sure that Wendell watered them. Wendell had some experience with plants.  He dug a trench around one of the plants to hold water.  Kim suddenly arrived, and without speaking a word, Wendell showed her what he had done.  When he returned later, Kim had dug a trench around the other plants.  Then Wendell decided to grow his own garden.  If Ana hadn’t gotten involved, Kim’s little garden probably would have remained just that, her little garden.  Because Ana got involved, Wendell got involved, the garden grew, and others joined them. Although Ana did not have her own garden, in many ways, she was responsible for the whole garden.  

Jessica has a bag containing 100 jelly beans. There are 20 red, cinnamon-flavored beans; 25 yellow, lemon- flavored beans; 15 green, mint-flavored...

Odds equal the ratio of the number of favorable outcomes to the number of non-favorable outcomes. Notice the difference between odds and probability, which is the ratio of the number of favorable outcomes to the total number of outcomes.

The are 65 fruit-flavored beans all together: 25 lemon, 30 grape  and 10 pineapple. There are 35 beans that are not fruit-flavored. So the

odds of picking a fruit-flavored jelly bean is 65/35 = 13/7.

To find odds against picking a cinnamon or mint bean, consider which outcomes would be "favorable". You DON'T want to pick either a cinnamon or a mint, so anything else would be favorable. All other jelly beans are fruit-flavored, so the odds against picking either cinnamon or a mint are the same as the odds of picking a fruit-flavored bean: 13/7.

Odds against picking a cinnamon or mint bean is 13/7.

Theoretical probability of picking a fruit-flavored bean is the number of fruit-flavored beans divided by the total number of beans: 65/100 = 65%.

Theoretical probability of not picking a cinnamon bean is the number of all other beans (100 - 20 = 80) divided by the total number of beans:

80/100 = 80%.

The probability of not picking a cinnamon bean is 80%.

What does Shakespeare foreshadow in Act III?

Act III is the first time Shakespeare presents significant tragedy in Romeo and Juliet. This act is when the death of Mercutio occurs, which is a substantial moment for Romeo and the world of the play. While bleeding, Mercutio spits, "A plague o' both your houses! I am sped" (III.i.90), and this curse is the main foreshadowing that occurs in Act III. This line links back to the initial prologue when the narrator outlines the events of the play and discusses the tragedy that will befall the two lovers. Mercutio reinforces this foreshadowing when he announces the plague.

Mercutio's plague is the first time Romeo hears a foreshadowing of doom, but the audience has already heard this warning. This tension increases the dramatic irony within the play. Shakespeare's use of foreshadowing, coupled with dramatic irony, is one of the reasons Romeo and Juliet continues to be a timeless classic. 

What happened in the Supreme Court case Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 261 (1971)? Why, even though the Supreme Court had ruled that plea...

Santobello v. New York is a U. S. Supreme Court case concerning a defendant who’d agreed to a plea bargain after which he pleaded guilty only to have the trial judge negate the plea and sentence the defendant to the maximum. Having disallowed the plea bargain, the trial judge did not allow the defendant to change his plea.

The Supreme Court held that the plea bargain process is important within the justice system, but also felt that in this specific case the trial judge should reassess the court’s plea bargain process. The high court remanded the case back to the trial judge for, either re-sentencing, based upon the original plea bargain, or to allow the defendant to withdraw his plea.

The dissent argued that when a plea bargain is broken, the court should automatically allow the defendant to withdraw the original plea. Rather than go this far, the majority determined that each case should be handled according to its specific merits rather than make any sweeping alterations of the plea bargain process within the criminal justice system.

One can easily see how prosecutors could use plea bargains to entice defendants to enter guilty pleas only to have the bargain withdrawn and then award the maximum sentence, which the defendants were trying to avoid. In this case, without the plea bargain, the defendant would have pleaded not guilty. One can also see how such a reneging could corrode public confidence in the criminal justice system. On the other hand, when the plea bargain is abused by using it too often and applying it too broadly, this could also diminish confidence in the legal system.

In fact, back in the early 1970s, Alaska Attorney General Avrum Gross ordered an end to plea bargains in his state. According to an executive summary of the issue done in 1991, researchers stated, “[H]e [Gross] had inherited a statewide system of prosecution in which few cases ever went to trial, and conviction rates were low” (Carns and Kruse). Gross' reasons for ending plea-bargaining also included: to establish a fair trial system, to restore confidence in the justice system, and to clarify justice system agencies’ roles with police investigating, prosecutors trying, and judges sentencing. Gross also saw the eliminating of plea bargaining as a way to improve his prosecutors' trial skills.

Gross’ order to end plea bargaining in Alaska was wrong. When something of value is misused or misapplied, it seems overkill to cast it out entirely. When used correctly, the plea bargain is a useful legal tool in the interests of justice. For minor crimes, it can save the taxpayers significant money. Even for more serious crimes, plea bargains take into consideration any mitigating circumstances that might warrant a lesser charge or reduced sentence. The plea bargain should be available for use at the discretion of the prosecutor with input from those involved in the case.

Teresa W. Carns and Dr. John Kruse, “Alaska’s Plea Bargaining Ban, Re-Evaluated, Executive Summary” (1991).

What is an example of dramatic irony in "The Necklace?"

It is difficult to explain an example of dramatic irony in “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant. Dramatic irony is a literary device in which the reader or audience knowns something in a piece of literature, about a character or their situation, that the characters do not. In “The Necklace” there is never an overt time when the author tells the reader something that the characters are not aware of. There may be an implied action that could be considered dramatic irony. When Madame Loisel’s friend readily agrees to allow her to pick out a piece of jewelry and lends her what seems to be a very expensive diamond necklace one might infer that she is being extremely benevolent or the jewelry is not what it seems. The reader receives the news that the necklace was an imitation at the same time that the character does therefore it is a better example of situational irony than dramatic irony.

Are Calpurnia's actions different when she is at her church in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

When comparing the actions of Calpurnia in Chapter 12 to the way we see her behaving otherwise, such as in the Finch home, our comparison will be different depending on what characters Calpurnia is interacting with. At her church, we see Calpurnia behave very bravely and assertively. While she is certainly much more humble when she is interacting with Atticus, her bravery and assertiveness is displayed each time she interacts with the Finch children.

In Chapter 12 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Calpurnia displays a sense of bravery and assertiveness when faced with the racist ridicule of Lula in front of the church's doors. Lula rebukes Calpurnia for bringing white children to an all-black church; she even stoops so low as to suggest that Calpurnia is sexually involved with Atticus. However, Calpurnia very bravely asserts her right to bring any company she would like to her own church, and the rest of the church members support her.

In contrast to Calpurnia's bold and assertive actions towards Lula at the church, Calpurnia acts with more humility when speaking to Atticus though he strives to treat her as one of the family. The best example can be seen the morning after Tom Robinson's trial when she very meekly answers his questions about where all of the extra dishes being served at breakfast came from. She shows Atticus into the kitchen and explains that all of the African-American citizens left him gifts of food at the doorstep in order to show their appreciation for his defense of Robinson. She particularly very humbly asks, "They--they aren't oversteppin' themselves, are they?" (Ch. 22). In other words, she is asking if her people are overstepping their social boundaries by reaching out to a white lawyer to show him gratitude. The question is humble because it assumes, based on racial discrimination, that her people would not have the right to do that. In answer to her humility, Atticus asks her to thank her community for him wholeheartedly.

In contrast to her humble interaction with Atticus in Chapter 22, we see Calpurnia never fail to aggressively assert herself as a caretaker of Atticus's children, just as she is very bold and aggressive to protect the children from Lula's insults. A good example can be seen in Chapter 10 when the children, as well as the rest of the neighborhood, are threatened by a rabid dog. She is very quick to protect the children by ordering them inside the house, phoning Atticus, and warning the neighborhood. She even very aggressively attempts to protect the children from the vision of their father shooting the dog by standing between the children and the screen door; regardless, her efforts are thwarted because the children see "from beneath her arms" (Ch. 10).

Hence, all in all, Calpurnia does not behave any differently at her church than she does at home, at least not with respect to the Finch children.

In paragraph 1 what does "What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly" mean in this context? This question is designed to make you attend to...

Thomas Paine wrote this in order to encourage the Revolutionary War soldier.  Early in the war, the colonial army was faring quite poorly with military defeat and few supplies.  It did not help that the army was facing the world's main superpower at the time, Great Britain.  Paine wrote these words to everyone in colonial America, reminding them that there would be struggle.  Soldier and civilian alike would suffer in this war; however, by struggle, the American citizen would value his independence and would do anything to hold on to it.  Paine hoped that this experiment in self-government (a novel concept at the time) had a chance to remain viable if people remembered what it took to keep it.  By fighting bloody battles and undergoing drastic hardships, these Americans could remind Americans later of what it took to create their government and this would be valued more than if Britain just gave it to the Americans.  

In what ways did Darcy change after he proposed to Elizabeth in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice?

In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy reflects on the extent of his own changes towards the end of the book when he proposes to Elizabeth for the second time:

I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. (Ch. 58)

He further reflects that he was taught by his parents to "care for none beyond [his] own family circle," but Elizabeth changed all of that (Ch. 58).

Darcy's self-reflection refers to the fact that he has always had a compassionate and generous nature yet has also had a tendency to judge others critically. Darcy's compassionate and generous nature is reflected in the fact that he jumped at the chance to rescue Lydia by bribing Wickham to marry her, all for the sake of protecting Elizabeth's reputation.

While it was always in Darcy's nature to act for the sake of protecting Elizabeth, it was also in his nature to be in the habit of critically judging others, a flaw that was reflected in his first marriage proposal to Elizabeth. During his speech, he very openly spoke of her family's inferiority. While he was correct in his assessments, as seen in his letter to her in which he explains he made his judgements based on the impropriety displayed by her younger sisters, her mother, and even her father, he learned a valuable lesson from his experience with Elizabeth. He learned to care for others not in his immediate family circle rather than just to shun them.

The extent to which he learned to show others consideration and care is first exhibited when he treats Elizabeth's Aunt and Uncle Gardiner with such care and consideration the day he discovers them touring Pemberley. Mr. Darcy behaves so kindly and civilly to the Gardiners, some of her relations who are tradespeople and beneath his social status, that she can't help but see how much he has changed since last she spoke with him, as she reflects in her following thoughts:

Why is so altered? From what can it proceed? It cannot be for me, it cannot be for my sake that his manners are thus softened. (Ch. 43)

Hence, as we can see, Mr. Darcy has learned a valuable lesson and forced himself to be caring towards people who are not in his immediate family circle.

All in all, Darcy changed by learning to let go of his pride and conceit in order to begin to act upon the values he had been taught of being kind and considerate. Only, now, he was able to be kind and considerate while also being civil and non-judgmental.

In the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred Lord Tennyson, is Ulysses a heroic or an unheroic figure?

To answer this question, you must decide what you think is "heroic" and why. Ulysses presents himself, at the beginning of the poem, as a rather pathetic figure. He is an "idle king," living among "barren crags," his wife is old, and all he does is "mete and dole / Unequal laws unto a savage race" whose lives consists of collecting stuff, eating, and sleeping. He realizes that he has "become a name," meaning that he once made a name for himself, but all his heroism is in the past. Throughout the poem, he speaks of what he has done and how he cannot stop; he must go on, "cannot rest from travel: I will drink / Life to the lees." But consider: to do this, he must leave his "aged wife"--a wife who waited twenty years, being faithful to him and fending off her suitors while he fought at Troy and got lost coming home.

The poem has some of the most heroic lines in it of all literature, in my opinion, but the actions Ulysses is considering are quite the opposite.

What is the purpose of this experimental structure? A researcher conducted an experiment on the effects of a new “drug” on depression. The...

The experiment, common in the pharmaceutical world, involves three separate groups of people, one that will be administered the experimental drug, another that will receive a placebo, and a third that will be given neither. The purpose of this structure is to determine, to the extent possible, the actual effectiveness of the real drug on individuals suffering from depression. The group that will be given neither the real medication nor the placebo, a fake pill that the control group in question will be told is the real drug, represents the untreated population of those who have been diagnosed with some form of depression. The group that receives the real drug will be closely monitored for its aggregate reaction to the medication.

As depression involves, in many cases, the physical structure of the human brain, including the manner in which certain chemicals are produced, then a medication designed to address depression in an individual may manipulate those functions of the brain, such as spurring increased or decreased production of the chemicals in question. Other causes of depression may involve physical trauma, the suddenness of a major, tragic event such as a death in the family or a diagnosis of a major illness, or an adverse side-effect of a medication intended to address an unrelated issue.

With multiple possible causes of depression, and with the physical structure of the individual brain being so complex and involving so many chemical reactions, tests designed to determine the effectiveness of a drug to treat depression include many variables, including the known phenomenon in which individuals convince themselves that a “drug” is having the desired effect even though the “drug” they have been given is actually a placebo.

The so-called “placebo effect” is an integral part of experiments designed to effect depression precisely because depression is a mental health issue that may or may not involve physical causes such as the structure of the individual limbic system and its components. Emotional responses to external stimuli, for example, can be manipulated through the administration of actual medications or other types of drugs, or those responses can manipulated by convincing test subjects of the authenticity of the fake medications they have been given as part of a placebo control group.

In many cases, if people believe that they are taking the actual medication, then they convince themselves that they are responding positively to that medication despite the fact that they may be receiving a placebo. In other words, they believe they are getting better, so they actually feel better even though there has been no interaction of man-made pharmaceuticals with their neurologic systems. It’s all rather complicated, but the “placebo effect” is real, so it must be taken into account when new medications designed to address depression are tested. If a statistically-significant percentage of the placebo control group responds positively to the fake drug its members have been given, then the results of the tests involving the group that has been given the real drug may be invalid.

`int x^2 sqrt(x^3 + 1) dx, u = x^3 + 1` Evaluate the integral by making the given substitution.

You need to evaluate the indefinite integral by performing the indicated substitution` u =x^3 + 1` , such that:

`u = x^3 + 1 => du = 3x^2 dx=> x^2dx = (du)/3`

`int x^2sqrt(x^3+1)dx = (1/3)*int sqrt u du`

Using the formula `int u^n du = (u^(n+1))/(n+1) + c` yields

`(1/3)*int sqrt u du = (1/3)(u^(1/2+1))/(1/2+1) + c`

`(1/3)*int sqrt u du = (2/9)(u^(3/2)) + c`

Replacing back  `x^3 + 1 ` for u yields:

`int x^2sqrt(x^3+1)dx = (2/9)((x^3 + 1)^(3/2)) + c`

Hence, evaluating the indefinite integral yields `int x^2sqrt(x^3+1)dx = (2/9)(x^3 + 1)sqrt(x^3+1) + c`

Why does the moon change its shape every day? Why is no sound heard on the moon? Why does the sun appear larger than other stars? Why aren't stars...

Why does the moon change its shape every day?

The moon does not produce any light of its own. The light that we see from the moon is light that is being reflected off the moon from the Sun. The dark portions of a moon’s phase are caused by the Earth’s shadow. Thus, the phases of the moon occur due to the relative positions of the Sun and the Earth.

Why is no sound heard on the moon?

Sound waves are mechanical waves that are caused by the vibrations amongst particles. However, space is a vacuum. Thus, there is no medium through which sound can travel. For this reason, no sound is heard on the moon.

Why does the Sun appear larger than other stars?

The Sun is closer to Earth than other stars. Therefore, the Sun appears larger than other stars.

Why are stars not visible during the day?

Stars do not disappear during the day. They remain in their same locations. During the day, the Earth faces the Sun. Due to the proximity of the Sun to the Earth, the Sun’s light reaches the Earth first. The intensity of the Sun’s light prevents us from seeing the light produced by the stars during the day.  

What are the primary mental health issues General Zaroff faces in "The Most Dangerous Game"?

General Zaroff, the antagonist in Richard Connel's short story "The Most Dangerous Game" is a criminal sociopath. A sociopath has a personality disorder which may cause extremely anti-social behavior and a lack of any remorse or conscience. While on the surface, Zaroff appears to be a cosmopolitan and highly civilized individual, he is actually a ruthless murderer who hunts men on his remote island.

When he first meets Rainsford he complains of becoming bored with hunting. He explains his problem:

"They were no match at all for a hunter with his wits about him, and a high-powered rifle. I was bitterly disappointed. I was lying in my tent with a splitting headache one night when a terrible thought pushed its way into my mind. Hunting was beginning to bore me! And hunting, remember, had been my life. I have heard that in America businessmen often go to pieces when they give up the business that has been their life." 

Because Zaroff has no scruples and lacks a conscience he provides himself with "big game" which presents a challenge. He hunts the men he captures when their ships run a ground on the rocky shore along the coast of his island.

Zaroff may also be suffering from the delusion that what he is doing is perfectly legitimate. He claims he is a superior human being preying on lesser sorts who are not worthy of life. He tells Rainsford:

"Life is for the strong, to be lived by the strong, and, if needs be, taken by the strong. The weak of the world were put here to give the strong pleasure. I am strong. Why should I not use my gift? If I wish to hunt, why should I not? I hunt the scum of the earth: sailors from tramp ships--lassars, blacks, Chinese, whites, mongrels--a thoroughbred horse or hound is worth more than a score of them." 

At the end of the story Zaroff is reading from the works of Marcus Aurelius, confirming his delusion. The Roman emperor and philosopher prided himself on a stoic ideology which focused on virtue and the highest caliber of ethical behavior, far removed from the savagery of the general.   

Brainstorm how processes, standard operating procedures and best practices are stored for a company. Discuss how Knowledge Management has helped or...

Business processes, standard operating procedures and best practices are stored within a company in explicit, implicit and tacit manners. The first two--explicit and implicit--allow companies to externalize and to transition knowledge from one generation to the next while the latter--tacit--poses a difficult quandary for businesses: How to externalize and pass along insight, experience and intuition? Knowledge management comprises several innovative methods of capturing the information businesses need to pass on in order to survive and grow in competitive markets.

The first step to understanding how knowledge management has effected the operation of business is to define the three elements at the core of a company. Processes are the step-by-step instructions on how to achieve a particular goal. Think of a process as the directions for generating a product or service. Standard operating procedures (SOP) are the manner in which the directions are performed. The SOP instructs the employee on the subset of tasks needed to complete the larger one. Best practices can be explicit or implicit ways of achieving business processes or standard operating procedures.

The best way to clarify these concepts is by developing a hypothetical example and follow a company toward their goal of creating a product. ABC Corporation is in the business of manufacturing widgets. The business process for manufacturing and selling widgets is a simple one. Steel is received from suppliers, melted down and molded into widgets. Once the widgets are manufactured they are shipped to awaiting customers. The standard operating procedure (SOP) for receiving steel is to check the quality of it before accepting the shipment. Another SOP is to have the furnaces at an exact operating temperature. Business processes and SOPs are written documents to ensure standardization and are easily verified.

Best practice for checking steel is to do it before the shipping company unloads it. The best practice for achieving the proper operating temperature in the furnace is to gradually increase the temperature. Best practices can be expected to adhere across an industry, so they can be expected to be written in some form of document. Some company specific best practices applying, for example, to the manufacture of widgets, may not be written rules but ways of operating learned over time (tacit knowledge).

Explicit knowledge is information that is written down in a documented form, such as documents for business processes or SOPs. Explicit knowledge is information easily passed throughout the organization. Implicit knowledge is more complex to understand. Implicit knowledge:

may be present in ... explicit and tacit knowledge but needs people to extract it. (David J. Skyrme, "Tacit and Explicit Knowledge")

Implicit knowledge is information that is implied by explicit (what is documented) or tacit (what is known) knowledge and that can be known if discovered through insight or analysis. It is therefore knowledge that is not written, but could be written and documented. For example, within a given company, it may be that company-specific best practices have been passed orally but could better be documented in writing.

The third component is tacit knowledge, which is information "embedded in the human mind through experience and jobs" (Tallinn University, Estonia, "Tacit and Explicit Knowledge") and not easily transferred from one generation to the next. This can be "Personal wisdom and experience, context-specific, ... insights, intuitions" (Tallinn). It can be difficult to capture and record such knowledge because it is very particular to the experience and interpretation of the individual.

Knowledge management is an understanding in administrative leadership that there exists information within a company vital to its survival that must be passed generationally. Knowledge management has created an atmosphere of innovation where such information can be better shared. The technology revolution in business has spurred ways to capture, document and share information. Companies can create online articles or collaborative storehouses of information that can be accessed from anywhere. This cloud-based knowledge sharing allows people to share information in a variety of ways, such as blogs or video uploads. Additionally, companies can initiate mentor programs designed to pass along information directly from one person to the other. Similarly, cross-training employees in different aspects of the company can produce benefits by applying different knowledge standards to problems. Although the latter are more traditional in nature, they can be very effective as well.

The social environment of the company will help determine what methods work best for the employees. In larger companies, one method may not work for every department involved. Knowledge management is designed to promulgate sharing of information and it must remain a fluid concept to be a useful tool. By recognizing the explicit, implicit and tacit knowledge within a company, knowledge management can focus on allowing the “owners” of information to find the best use for and disbursement of it.

What is the difference between calcination and roasting?

Calcination and roasting are both ore processing metallurgical methods which are used to generate metal oxides. In both the methods, ores are heated below their melting points. There are a number of differences between the two:

• Calcination takes place in absence or limited supply of air (or oxygen). Roasting, on the other hand, is done in presence of air (or oxygen).


• Calcination removes the volatile impurities and moisture from the ore. Roasting, on the other hand, removes the impurities by oxidizing them and results in release of carbon dioxide and sulfur oxides. 


• Calcination is commonly used for carbonate and bicarbonate ores, while roasting is more commonly used for sulfide ores.


• An example of calcination is the processing of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) ore. Roasting can be used for a sulfide ore like zinc sulfide (ZnS). 

Hope this helps. 

What is the theme of The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope?

One of the main themes of The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope is the exposition of human vanity, especially the vanity exhibited by the upper classes of society. He develops this theme by using the form of the mock epic, a specific form of satire that uses the structure and conventions of epic poetry to narrate trivial events and, in the process, make fun of them. In the poem, Pope narrates the story of a beautiful upper class woman (Belinda) who has a lock of hair tragically stolen by Lord Petre. Throughout the poem, Pope illustrates the vanity of upper class society by staging its primary rituals, including a game of cards and a coffee break, as if they were worthy of epic literature. The poem's climax occurs when Lord Petre scandalously steals a lock of Belinda's hair and chaos breaks loose. All in all, while he's never overly nasty in his satirical treatment of events, Pope is also clearly trying to point out the absurd pettiness and vanity of upper class society by satirically relating it to epic literature.

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est" what is the author referring to in the phase "dim through the misty panes and thick green light"?

These lines of Wilfred Owen’s poem “Dulce et Decorum Est” refer to different things.  The first part of the line you mention refers to the glass lenses, vision ports, in the gas masks the soldiers used.  The second part of the line refers to the chlorine gas that has been fired at the soldiers in this vignette.

The first part of the line refers to the imperfect vision that the gas masks afforded the soldiers.  The masks, of course, had to have something that allowed the wearer to see out.  This glass was not necessarily perfectly clear.  In addition, as the soldier wore it, their body heat could cause it to fog up.  Thus, the “misty panes” are the pieces of glass in the gas mask that allow the narrator to look out and see his comrade who has been caught without his gas mask on.

The second part of the line refers to the chlorine gas that the Germans have fired at these soldiers.  Chlorine gas had a distinctly greenish color to it.  If enough shells full of this gas had exploded, thick clouds of the gas could have been expelled.  This would have caused the light coming through the gas to be green. 

So, the “misty panes” are the glass parts of the narrator’s gas mask and the “thick green light” is the light that has been made green and murky by passing through a cloud of chlorine gas.

Why does the author describe Madame Loisel as charming?

In Guy de Mauppassant’s “The Necklace” he describes Madame Loisel as “one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans.” He does this to let the reader know she was a woman who had the potential to live a different life than the one she was destined for.  A charming woman is thought to be attractive and pleasant. Her married life does not lend to her being charming due to lack of the resources to live the life she yearns for. This often leaves her sullen. The author foreshadows her success at the ball where she is in her element and dances the night away with men of a different class than she is accustomed to. Unfortunately, her life takes a significant change for the worse when she discovers that she lost the borrowed necklace.

What is the main theme conveyed through the actions of the characters?

Interesting question! There are numerous themes conveyed throughout the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Some of the most prevalent themes focus on the consequences of education and knowledge, which are evaluated through the lives of the creature and Victor.

Regarding the creature's education and knowledge, Shelley portrays the pursuit of knowledge as flawed and perhaps what even turned the creature into a monster. For example, when the creature was first created, he did not know about his “lower status.” He merely wanted contact with others. As a result of his learning about others' opinions of him, such as the French cottagers, the creature started viewing himself as monstrous. As the creature himself states:

“I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflected upon me: I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge. Oh, that I had for ever remained in my native wood, nor known nor felt beyond the sensations of hunger, thirst, and heat!”

Victor, the creator, also experiences this regret and double-sided sword of education. For example, it was education that caused Victor to make the creature. When Victor left for school, he soon became exposed to the “god-like science,” which led to the making of the creature. Also, he neglected his family and friends to spend countless hours alone making the creature. As a result, he lost focus of all other values and over-prioritized the importance of knowledge.

Thus, throughout the book, Shelley evaluates the impact of knowledge through the characters’ lives. Although education can be beneficial, Shelley illustrates that it can also lead to destruction and grief if over-prioritized.  

Who has to take the treatment for Stirrings in The Giver?

All adolescents take treatment for Stirrings as soon as they hit puberty.

“Stirrings” is the community’s euphemism for puberty.  Because controlling the size of the population and ensuring a total lack of emotion among citizens is top priority, parents are trained to recognize the earliest signs of puberty in their children so that they can be given pills to stop it.

It is clear that all aspects of daily life in the community are regulated.  It is important that no one ever feel uncomfortable, so the community is designed to prevent people from having the ability to fall in love.  Love may be a wonderful thing, but it also causes pain.  The prevention of pain and instability is paramount in Jonas's community.

Jonas’s parents first recognize that he is having Stirrings when he tells them about a dream he has about his friend Fiona.  In the dream, he is trying to get Fiona to take a bath. It is his first sign of sexual maturity.

"Jonas," she said with a smile, "the feeling you described as the wanting? It was your first Stirrings. Father and I have been expecting it to happen to you. It happens to everyone. (Ch. 5)

At this point, Jonas begins to take pills to prevent the Stirrings from returning.  Since stopping the pills will result in a return of the feelings, Jonas and all other adults are supposed to take them until they are too old to produce offspring.

The side effect of the pills is that they numb people.  The pills do not just prevent sexual attention in adolescents and adults, they also limit access to human emotions.  They basically keep the populace childlike.  A community of children is much easier to control.

After Jonas has received enough memories to understand the world at a deeper level, he stops taking the pills.

He had not taken the pills, now, for four weeks. The Stirrings had returned, and he felt a little guilty and embarrassed about the pleasurable dreams that came to him as he slept. But he knew he couldn't go back to the world of no feelings that he had lived in so long. (Ch. 17)

Not taking the pills is another thing that makes Jonas unique.  He has come to understand that no one in his community has ever had a real emotion.  They do not really understand life and can’t relate to him.  He has problems relating to them too.  He asks his parents if they love him, and tries to convince Asher not to play war games.  Each incident results in him feeling more and more distant from the others in his community.

What is the central theme of "The Destructors"?

We can state the central theme in a couple of ways, but I think the main idea of this story is this:  Extreme circumstances can drive people to act in ways that do not fit their usual characters.

The boys in the gang had lost nearly everything to the bombings of WWII. They had lost their homes or feared for them daily.  Their neighborhood is described as having "...suffered from the blast of the bomb and the side walls were supported on wooden struts. A smaller bomb and some incendiaries had fallen beyond, so that the house stuck up like a jagged tooth...." They had lost their childhood. They no longer felt safe in their world.

Thus, they were driven to petty mischief which is normal for most boys, but when they meet Trevor and agree to his destructive plan, they are truly acting out of character.  Trevor's desire to wreck Old Misery's home was driven by jealousy, and he was able to draw the others in.

It is doubtful that any of the kids would have joined in the destruction if they were not disillusioned by the adult world to begin with.  They were victims of destruction themselves, so their destructive acts, while not condoned, are at least understandable.

The strong underlying force of this novel is the relationship between Amir and Hassan. Discuss their friendship. Why is Amir afraid to be...

While Amir and Hassan grow up as close as brothers, differences in ethnic group, religious belief, and economic status cause rifts between them. Their relationship is preceded by that of their fathers, Baba (Amir's father) and Ali (Hassan's father), who also grew up as friends, but Ali was servant to Baba's family. In the next generation, Ali still serves Baba and his son, Amir, and Hassan also serves the family, particularly Amir. The relationship between Amir and Hassan is complex because of this master-servant dynamic, which is also grounded in the ethnic/religious/class differences between them. Amir and Baba are part of the Pashtun ethnic group and the Sunni Muslim religion, both of which are the majority in Afghanistan. Hassan and Ali, on the other hand, are Hazara and Shia, both of which are minority groups that are disrespected and oppressed in the country. In terms of social class, Amir and Baba are well-to-do, as Baba (and Amir's mother, who is now deceased) is educated, financially successful, and influential, while Ali and Hassan are illiterate servants. These differences make Amir sometimes feel embarrassed to be seen with Hassan in public. Other characters, like the bully Assef, degrade Hassan mercilessly, but Amir is too afraid to come to his friend's defense. On the other hand, Hosseini repeatedly depicts Hassan protecting and defending Amir.

Amir's increasingly heartless treatment of Hassan seems to result from Amir projecting his own insecurity. Amir feels guilty and feels that Hassan is morally superior, so he seeks to take Hassan down a notch. While there were some hints of this earlier, the climactic moment in their relationship occurs when Amir witnesses Hassan being sexually assaulted by Assef at the end of the kite-fighting/kite-running tournament and does nothing to help Hassan or to stand up for him (even though he knows that if the situation were reversed, Hassan would come to his rescue). Amir is a meek, introverted child and even though he knows he should help Hassan, he can't follow through with any concrete action. Amir is also sensitive and so feels extremely guilty about his inaction. Instead of making amends with Hassan, though, he continues to project his own anxieties onto Hassan, testing his loyalty in scenes like the one in which Amir throws pomegranates at Hassan and begs him to throw something back, to fight back in some way. This is a clear example of Amir projecting his own inability to act onto Hassan. 

The friendship between Amir and Hassan could be related to a number of possible themes. One is that differences in class, religion, ethnicity, or other facet of a person's background can lead to serious conflicts in this person's relationships with those of other classes, religions, or ethnicities. The relationship between the two characters also shows us how betrayal can ruin a friendship and can go on to haunt the traitor for the rest of his life; on the other hand, this betrayal can present opportunities for redemption, and we see Amir taking advantage of that opportunity in the second half of the novel. 

How is the relationship between George and Lennie presented in Of Mice and Men?

In Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie have a complicated relationship. George often insults and chastises Lennie for Lennie's many mistakes, most of which tend to have quite serious consequences. Lennie does not, however, dislike or resent George for these interactions. Rather, Lennie relies on George for his guidance, both through these redirections and George's ability to imagine their hypothetical future. 

Although they are both physically grown men, these aspects give their relationship the quality of a parent-child relationship rather than a fraternal or friendly one. What is interesting about this fact is that George and Lennie are not in fact related. They simply travel together, and George cares for and guides Lennie. One can analyze this situation and understand that despite George's many negative interactions with Lennie, he actually cares for him very deeply and worries about his well-being. In return, Lennie loves George with the unbridled adoration of a child. 

Provide a summary of Arthur and George by Julian Barnes.

Arthur and George by Julian Barnes is a novel based on an actual series of historical events in which George Edalji, who has been falsely accused of mutilating  animals, asks for the help of Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, to clear his name of the false accusation. 

George Ernest Thompson Edalji (March 1876 – 17 June 1953) was the son of Sharpurji Edalji, a man of Parsi descent from Bombay who converted to the Church of England, married the daughter of an Anglican priest, and was the Vicar of St Mark's, Great Wyrley. In this period, Indians were rarely found in rural English villages, and the family is subject to xenophobia and racism. In 1893, the family receives threats and hate mail, which cease after they fire a servant, and in 1903 the hate mail resumes and someone begins mutilating farm animals in the region. George, at this point a 27-year old lawyer, is convicted of the mutilations. 

George requests that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, help him try to overturn the conviction. Doyle takes on the role of his own fictional creation and the conviction is overturned. Much of the story focuses on the character and ideas of Doyle himself, the process of investigation, and the relationship between the two men as both liminal characters (Doyle was actually Irish rather than English) in England. 

Which of the following is a statement/proposition? 1. We ought to have a good balance between work and relaxation. 2. Not all mathematical...

The terms "statement" and "proposition" are technical terms used in philosophical analysis, but the terms are used differently in formal logic and in informal logic or argument theory. 

In formal logic, a proposition is something that has a truth value. The same proposition can, however, be expressed in multiple ways or multiple different statements. Thus "some cats are black" and "black coats are found on some felines" would express the same logical proposition with the same truth value, a value dependent on the empirical evidence of there being black cats. The propositional content of a sentence is its truth claim. Your second sentence, "Not all mathematical statements can be reduced to set theory," expresses a proposition. Because an "ought" statement expresses a moral imperative, it is of a different category than a formal logical proposition in that it is not making a clearly verifiable claim.

While some philosophers consider that there are moral truths, and thus that "ought" statements contain propositions in the sense of having truth values, many philosophers argue that to assign a truth value to an "ought" statement is to commit the "naturalistic fallacy."

In informal logic or argumentation, a proposition is a claim to be argued. Under this definition, both of your sentences would constitute propositions. Both sentences are declarative statements. 

Examine Da-duh's role as an "ancestor " figure.

Da-duh represents the ancestor figure, a popular character found in African American literature, because she is a symbol of the past, of wisdom, and of a culture’s heritage.  As the matriarch of the family, Da-duh represents a long line of tradition and culture, and that is why she tries so hard to convince her granddaughter of the wonders of Barbados.  However, Da-duh’s family, time, and tradition have moved on. Her daughter and granddaughters live in New York City, and the world has become more modern.  Barbados has been taken over by the English, and old traditions are quickly being replaced with new ones.   The granddaughter represents new ideas and lifestyles different than Da-duh’s. However, Da-duh’s wisdom and influence is still strong as she eventually convinces her granddaughter that Barbados is a unique place and culture.

Finding and understanding your roots is a major theme in African American literature, and Da-duh symbolizes the granddaughter’s ability to do that when she dreams of Barbados and paints murals of Barbados’ beautiful landscape on her apartment walls.  Without Da-duh’s wisdom and teachings about Barbados, the granddaughter would not have learned about herself and her culture.  The main goal of an ancestor figure in literature is to help others find themselves through their traditional culture and values.

In Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equations," what is the girl compared to that reinforces the idea she is harmless and unaware of the serious...

In the short story "The Cold Equations," author Tom Godwin draws the very sad and effective comparison between Marilyn, the teenage girl stowaway, and a puppy to describe her guilty face as she humbly followed Barton's orders to sit down as he gave the situation careful consideration:

She obeyed, his silence making the smile fade into the meek and guilty expression of a pup that has been caught in mischief and knows it must be punished.

The image of the puppy in Godwin's comparison helps capture Marilyn's innocence while also making the reader feel sad for her. The image captures her innocence because puppies are very innocent creatures; they are only guilty of wrongdoing due to the rules we enforce upon them, just as a law has been enforced upon Marilyn.

The image of the puppy also helps capture Marilyn's youthful naivete since puppies are equally young and naive of the evils in the world. Since she is naive, Marilyn has no idea what consequences she'll suffer for her poor decision to stow away. Coupled with Godwin's description of Marilyn being petite, curly-haired, blue-eyed and smiling, Godwin's comparison containing the image of a puppy very effectively breaks the reader's heart.

When Atticus stands in Bob Ewell's shoes, why does he feel sorry for him?

In Chapter 23, Bob Ewell spits in Atticus' face while he is leaving the post office. Atticus calmly wipes the spit from his face and allows Bob Ewell to curse him out. That night, Jem tells his father that he is scared that Bob Ewell will attempt to hurt Atticus. Atticus explains why Bob spit in his face and feels sorry for Mr. Ewell. Atticus tells Jem that he destroyed Mr. Ewell's last shred of credibility and didn't blame him for spitting in his face. Atticus feels that if Bob spitting in his face saved Mayella one extra beating, he is glad. During the trial, Atticus described how Mayella broke the "unwritten code" of having feelings for a black man, and portrayed Bob Ewell as an abusive alcoholic. Since the trial, the Maycomb community has dismissed the Ewells. The entire county views Bob Ewell with contempt. Bob Ewell is a social outcast who is not respected in his home town. Atticus is able to perceive the difficult position Bob Ewell is in and takes pity on him.

How can the police serve as a pillar of democracy?

The preservation of order is important to a democracy. For democracy to be meaningful, people have to know that their rights are protected from intrusions by other people. The police therefore play a vital role in a democracy. This is especially the case in societies where significant factions have an interest in disrupting the peaceful political process. We can see an example of this in Nigeria (which I believe, based on other questions recently posted, this question is alluding to). In elections held in the spring of 2015, the terrorist organization Boko Haram made frequent and violent attempts to disrupt the political process, and the ability of state police to stop these attempts was important to the safety of the voters and the legitimacy of the political process. To cite another example, African-Americans in the southern United States were granted the right to vote by the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, but this right was meaningless. Southern states kept them from voting by several different means, most of which were extralegal. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided for the use of federal authority, including federal marshals, to ensure that their voting rights were protected. So sometimes police power is necessary to give meaning to democracy. 

What do you think the theme in The Giver is concerning memories? Give examples from the book where this theme is developed.

For me, the theme of memory in The Giver is that memory is what makes us fully human and connects us to one another through time and space. This theme resounds throughout the entire novel.

The only memories that exist in this community are those of the people's own lifetimes, and these are memories that are of Sameness, fully cut off from any emotional resonance.  This is useful, to be sure, since children will learn not stick their fingers into sockets and adults will remember how to get from point A to point B. 

But the denizens of this community are completely missing out on the experiences of those who have gone before them, the collective wisdom of time, which is formed of memories.  This means they lack the ability to deal with anything outside their own limited and unemotional experiences and must call upon the Giver to help them.  In one instance, the people of the community consulted the Giver when they wanted to shoot down a stray plane. The Giver advised them not to, drawing on a memory of mass destruction resulting from a similar overreaction.  A people that has no memory of history is going to make grievous and possibly fatal errors. 

As Jonas gains each memory from the Giver, he becomes more fully human and is able to see the powerful advantages of memory. This is brought home in the scene in which he is given the memory of Christmas, with a regular family, including grandparents and love.  He sees a world in which people are "a little more complete" (126), as the Giver says.  This is the emotional aspect of memory that the people of the community have been deprived of. Imagine having been loved and not having the memory of that love.  What a sad world it would be. Depriving the people of these memories, though, is a means of controlling them, since they have no idea they could be living in a better world.

The theme of memory is not all rosy, though, since memories can be painful, as we see when Jonas learns of war.  To have memory means having memories of pain, of disappointment, of anger, or envy.  These have been taken away to spare the people of the community these agonies. 

But the Giver and finally Jonas come to realize that there is no true humanity or community without memory, no matter how painful it might be.  As Jonas prepares to leave the community for Elsewhere, the Giver says his work will be finished "when I have helped the community to change and become whole" (161). Memory makes us whole, and its absence makes us less than fully human. 

Archie does not tell the boys how to solve their problem in Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl. Why not?

In chapter seven, Kevin and Leo go to see Archibald Hapwood Brubaker, a paleontologist who hosts a student club called the Loyal Order of the Stone Bone. Students of any age can go to his house and ask him questions. Kevin and Leo decide to ask him about Stargirl, whom, to their surprise, he already knows personally. The boys ask many questions about her and her parents. He says the following:

"She's homeschooled, you know. Her mother brought her to me. I guess she wanted a break from playing teacher. One day a week. Four, five--yes, five years now" (33).

The fact that Archie has known her for so long gives him the credibility the boys need to find out more about her. The big question on their minds is if they should interview her on the Hot Seat--a student spotlight-type show that they produce and air on local TV. Archie's response is "Work it out" (35), thus leaving the final decision to interview Stargirl up to the boys. But he doesn't make that his final answer to the boys, either. Although he is cryptic, he adds one more bit of advice to help the boys make up their minds and to understand Stargirl better:

"You'll know her more by your questions than by her answers. Keep looking at her long enough. One day you might see someone you know" (35).

One could say that Archie is encouraging the boys to interview Stargirl because they will understand her better if they do ask questions. Asking questions is the best way to gather information and educate oneself on any matter, which is also the scientific way. Maybe Archie does not tell the boys exactly what to do, though, because he understands that by them working it out for themselves, the questions and answers will be more authentic and mean more to them in the long run.

What three things did the English Bill of Rights do?

The English Bill of Rights was written in 1689 by the British parliament in response to the succession of William and Mary. The English Bill of Rights was used as the cornerstone for developing democratic freedoms in Britain in the 1600s and into the future. It was introduced as a way to limit the power of the monarchy, and restore power to the parliament.

The 1689 English Bill of Rights built on an earlier document, the Magna Carta which was published in 1215. The English Bill of Rights further built upon the Magna Carta in a number of ways to decrease the King or Queen's power.

Firstly, it guaranteed free elections of parliament positions. Included in this guarantee was also the guarantee that parliament would meet frequently and regularly.

Secondly, it established the right of the English people to complain to the King or Queen in parliament. This right later served as the basis for the American Bill of Rights idea of freedom of speech.

Thirdly, it forbid the government imposing excessive fines, or inappropriate cruel punishments in response to crimes.

The English Bill of Rights also put in place workings which provided that the laws of the English people would be determined by individuals representing the peoples best interests. Hope this helps! 

How did the Crusades weaken the Feudal system?

Many historians see the Crusades as the event that had the greatest impact in bringing an end to the medieval system of feudalism. During the Crusades, many of the manor lords and knights left their estates to fight in the war. Peasants also participated and received higher wages. As a result, the peasants demanded higher wages when they returned from battle. It is also important to note that many lords and knights were killed in battle and a power vacuum existed in the system.

The Crusaders brought back with them a terrible disease that had devastating effects on Europe. The Bubonic Plague killed half of the populations of some urban areas in Europe. The pope and the kings watched hopelessly and could do nothing to stop the death. The people lost faith in the institutions of religion and government and no longer could accept the social system of feudalism.

Why was Framton Nuttel's sister worried about his going to the country?

In addition to having a nerve problem, or neurosis, Framton Nuttel appears to be a shy, reclusive man who spends much of his time alone. His sister knows him well, and she has presented him with a batch of letters of introduction in order to try to force him to get around and meet people while he is staying in the country for an attempted nerve cure on doctor's order. 

"I know how it will be," his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; "you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice."

Framton's sister seems much more confident and aggressive than her brother. She worries about him because she doesn't believe the countryside will do him any good if he just hides in a rented room somewhere, as she feels sure he is likely to do. This is an effective way for Saki, the author, to plunge his shy, nervous viewpoint character into an English country household where he doesn't know anything about the people upon whom he is calling. It is, of course, essential that he should not know anything about the Sappletons in order for Vera's story to have the effect she desires. She makes sure Framton knows nothing about her family and virtually nothing about anybody else in the region by asking him just two questions.

"Do you know many of the people round here?" asked the niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.

"Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?" pursued the self-possessed young lady.

Her leading questions when she first meets him are intended to inform the reader, along with Vera, that Framton is the perfect patsy for her practical joke.

What does porous mean?

Porous simply means containing pores, or holes. In other words, anything that has pores is termed as porous. For example, filters have pores and are hence porous. Similarly, soil is porous and so is our skin (that is what enables sweating in warm weather). 

There are a large number of porous surfaces in nature. We also engineer a number of surfaces to be porous. As already stated, soil and skin are porous; similarly, we design filters for various applications to be porous (with different porosities). For example, microbiologists often use a filter of 0.25 micron or 0.1 micron size to filter water and collect microbes for further examination. Groundwater hydrologists study subsurface porosity to learn more about the transport of water and contaminants through the subsurface. At home, we use materials of different porosities for filtering various items (such as filtering tea or used oil).

Hope this helps. 

What is something that works like a nucleus?

The nucleus controls all the activities of the cell and can be thought of as the central control of all cell functions. We can compare the cell nucleus to a number of everyday objects by the analogy of work or function. Think about the role of brain in our own bodies. The brain controls all the activities of our body and directs the functions of our body. Another example is that of a school principal. The principal of a school controls all the activities within his/her school and directs all the activities within the school boundaries. It is through his/her direction that the school works properly. We can also think of the central processing unit of a computer as its nucleus. Several other analogies can be thought of.

Hope this helps.